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saoney · 28 days ago

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Skyfall .𖥔 ݁ ˖

⭑ Satoru Gojo + [Fem! Reader] .ᐟ

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 Eldoria was built on lies and blood. [Y/N], the sheltered princess, lived her life unaware of the sins her parents committed to secure their kingdom’s golden age. But the ghosts of the past do not rest. Satoru Gojo, the last survivor of a kingdom destroyed by Eldoria’s greed, returns with a vengeance. When the night of his conquest leaves [Y/N] orphaned and her kingdom in ruins, Satoru spares her life—but only to make her his captive bride. In a world of betrayal, power, and obsession, can love bloom in the shadow of vengeance? Or will the weight of their broken kingdoms destroy them both?

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞 Dark Romance, Drama, Historical Fantasy, Revenge, Tragedy, Slow Burn

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 Graphic Violence, Death of Loved Ones, Emotional and Physical Abuse Themes, Forced Marriage, Power Imbalance, Themes of Revenge and Obsession, Psychological Manipulation, Trauma and PTSD Representation, Mature Themes

🔖 masterlist

Prologue: The Fall of Two Kingdoms

The Kingdom of Eldoria was once a place of beauty and prosperity. Nestled in the heart of a fertile valley, it flourished under the reign of King Takeshi and Queen Sakura. The land was rich with emerald fields and glistening rivers. Its people lived in harmony, their bellies full, their hearts light. The castle—grand and serene—stood at the center of it all, a testament to the wisdom and care of its rulers. Princess [Y/N], the crown jewel of the kingdom, had known nothing but peace, sheltered by the soft glow of love from her parents. She was a fairy tale princess in every sense of the word, with her laughter filling the halls, and her days spent in the sunlight.

But in the shadows, unseen by the innocent eyes of [Y/N], there was a darker story—a story that would unravel her world in a single night.

⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖

Satoru Gojo’s Kingdom, now a ruin, had once been a jewel of power and wealth. The Kingdom of Icaris, vast and majestic, was ruled by Satoru’s parents: King Hiroshi and Queen Aiko. They were known for their strength, their wisdom, and the prosperity they commanded. But their kindness had blinded them to the greedy ambitions of their neighbors, and their enemies had grown ever more numerous.

In secret, the Kingdom of Eldoria had waged a war against Icaris, one that would tear the heart from Satoru’s world. Led by the ambition of the Eldorian rulers, it was a war disguised as diplomacy. Eldoria, hidden behind a veil of peace talks, attacked in the dead of night, burning the lands of Icaris to ash, leaving nothing but the ruins of a once-great kingdom. The reason behind the attack was simple: wealth. Eldoria had taken what was rightfully Icaris’s—gold, jewels, resources, everything that had kept Icaris flourishing for centuries. With the treasures from Icaris, Eldoria’s kingdom soared even higher, while Satoru’s people were reduced to ghosts.

But even in the aftermath, no one knew the full extent of the devastation. The royal family of Icaris—Satoru’s parents—were slain without mercy. Satoru, a mere child of ten, watched as his world crumbled around him. His parents, his kingdom, his legacy—all reduced to nothing in a single night.

Satoru was left alone, wandering the ashes of his homeland with nothing but the cold wind and the ghosts of his fallen people. Only Suguru Geto, his right-hand man, remained by his side. Together, they swore vengeance. They would burn down the kingdom that had done this. And they would claim the riches that had been stolen from his people.

⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖

Years passed.

Satoru grew from a child filled with rage into a man forged in the fires of loss and vengeance. His heart hardened, but his mind remained sharp. Suguru was always by his side, an unyielding force, his right hand in every battle, every plan. Together, they grew their army, an unstoppable force driven by hatred for the royal family of Eldoria and the destruction they had wrought upon Icaris and its people.

⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖

It was a night like any other when Eldoria’s peaceful world was torn apart.

The kingdom had grown soft, the people lulled into a false sense of security. Princess [Y/N], now a woman of [Y/N’s Age], had inherited the beauty and grace of her mother, Queen Sakura. She had never known a day of hardship. Her life was filled with courtly dances, lovely dresses, and the adoration of her people. Her heart was light, full of laughter, filled with hopes for a future of love and peace.

Until, one fateful night, when the sky above the kingdom cracked with the sound of thunder. War had come for Eldoria’s kingdom, but not in the form of an army, not in the traditional sense. No, it came from the sea, from the air, from the very heart of the storm.

Ships—vast and black—emerged from the horizon, cutting through the waters with eerie precision. They were not of this world. They were foreign, strange, the flags raised upon their masts bearing a symbol of an unknown kingdom—a symbol that struck fear into the hearts of Eldoria’s court. Pirates, they called them. But [Y/N] knew, even before the first arrow was fired, that these were no mere raiders. They were soldiers on a mission of vengeance. They were coming for the blood of her people.

⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖

In the span of a single night, the kingdom fell.

The gates of the castle were breached with terrifying ease. Guards were slaughtered in the halls. Fires broke out in the kitchens, the stables, the towers. The castle that had once gleamed with the light of peace was now consumed by smoke and flames. The royal family, in their final moments, tried to flee—but it was too late.

[Y/N] was the last to see her parents alive. King Takeshi and Queen Sakura were dragged from their chambers, their faces pale with fear, their hands trembling as they pleaded for their lives. [Y/N] could hear their screams as the invaders dragged them through the corridors. And then, they were gone.

⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖

And then, Satoru Gojo entered her world.

He was not a man. Not in the way she thought. He was a force, a presence that tore through the remnants of her kingdom like a storm, burning everything in his path. His eyes, cold as ice, locked onto her the moment he saw her. The woman who had once been his enemy’s daughter. His only living witness to the greed and destruction that had annihilated his world.

[Y/N] had never seen anything like him. He was a prince, yes, but he was no longer one of the regal kind. He was a killer. A man bent on revenge, dressed in the blood of his enemies. But when his eyes fell on her, there was something else there. Something darker.

⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖

“You are mine now.”

He said it as if it were a decree. A promise. An act of ownership. As if her life—her soul—belonged to him. And for a moment, [Y/N] couldn’t even comprehend it. She was too numb with the loss of her parents, too broken by the horrors she’d witnessed. But then, as he raised his hand to claim her, something in her snapped. Her voice, so fragile yet defiant, finally broke through the terror.

“No…” she whispered, her eyes filled with unshed tears.

⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖

Satoru’s laugh was like ice scraping against metal.

“You think you have a choice?” His voice was smooth, calculating, yet there was a fire in his gaze. “You’re the last of your royal line. There’s nothing left for you but me.”

The darkness in his eyes told her everything. This was not just revenge. This was ownership. This was power.

The castle crumbled beneath them, and [Y/N]’s life as she knew it ended.

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winns-stuff · 1 year ago

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LO RANT:

TRIGGER WARNING: SA

Okay I’m back again and it’s only to say this.. The comments on the new fastpass are genuinely disgusting. I don’t care how you put it or feel about both characters it’s absolutely deranged to ship or want a redemption arc for a rapist, maybe I’m being too harsh but I can’t find soft words to use for this. The fact that there’s so many people girlbossing this entire situation as a “I got the entire lineage on my shoulders!!! I slept with the brothers and the father!!!!” thing is weird to me because these fans are all missing the point of Hera’s entire story and it makes no sense that as I’m ALWAYS saying these fans are quite literally shipping rapists with their victims when the entire point of Lore Olympus was to shed light and bring awareness to Sexual Assault that is not violent or gruesome in physical action.

And we all know why this is happening, Rachel doesn’t know how to properly handle this situation and it’s clear that that’s how this is coming across to her fans. They don’t see this as a rape survivor story they see this as another dark romance since she doesn’t bother on actually addressing the assault in a respectful and dignified way, every single time she adds another sexual assault in her story she’s always glamorizing it or diminishing it whenever she gets tired of writing about it and it’s infuriating. Your fans should know better than to ship victims with their abusers and you wanna know why? Because you pride your comic on healthy relationships and mental health talks, you use the sexual assault as some kind of badge to show everyone that you know what you’re talking about when it’s clear that you will abandon all real representation of a situation that affects millions of people around the world just for crappy fan service.

Lore Olympus fans are groomed to dismiss these arcs since they’re not even treated like they’re serious and it doesn’t seem like Rachel takes it serious as well, she’s never taken any advice from survivors who aren’t pleased with how she portrays SA and she completely ignores the feelings of those truly affected by the traumatic events that she shoves into her webcomic just so it’ll stay “interesting”. I’m tired of Rachel getting away with drawing absolute trauma porn and I’m sick of her sexualizing every single woman we come across, how many times do we have to continue this long and excruciating pattern of giving the women of your comic terrible consequences and make them suffer just for drama and nothing else. How many other situations are you willing to completely spit on just to look self aware?

This is honestly the last straw because there’s been so many people genuinely shipping Hera and Kronos and also saying borderline disgusting things just to defend stuff like that. Rachel needs to say something, you cannot just sit back and be quiet while your fans openly admit to wanting to see a rapist and his victim together for the sake of your own comic and “beloved” main character hell even for a lot of your fans you need to speak up about this and address it letting a mindset like that fester in a fandom probably filled with survivors of assault is a disservice to them and it’s a slap in the face to the comfort that your webtoon gave them.

#lo critical #anti lore olympus #anti lo #lore olympus criticism #lore olympus critical #antiloreolympus

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bbcphile · 1 year ago

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Mysterious Lotus Casebook and Complex PTSD Representations: Part I

One of my favorite things about Mysterious Lotus Casebook is how surprisingly nuanced and unusual its portrayal of complex PTSD is. So many shows either introduce character trauma to make the character Sad and Brooding, Angry and Violent (if they’re a villain) or Hesitant to Start a Relationship (if it’s a romance), and that’s usually as in-depth as it gets. If they address the unique after effects of child abuse that lead to complex PTSD at all, it’s usually either explain why a character is a homicidal monster (which is all sorts of problematic) or it’s limited to a single phobia, which can be overcome by the Power of Love, or it’s just something that crops up occasionally for Plot and then forgotten about the rest of the time.

Mysterious Lotus Casebook gives us two deeply traumatized characters–Li Lianhua and Di Feisheng–who each have clear symptoms of complex PTSD, and yet, their cPTSD manifests completely differently because of the types of traumas that caused it and their relationships to the people causing the traumas. And their manifestations of cPTSD affect just about every level of their being, including their sense of self, their decision-making, and their relationships with others, and it includes some of the incredibly important manifestations of cPTSD that are almost never shown in media while avoiding the most insulting stereotypes!

PTSD vs cPTSD

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety disorder caused by experiencing a single (or short lived) traumatic event (an accident, assault, medical emergency, fighting in a war, etc), where the symptoms last for longer than a month. Symptoms include things like reexperiencing the event (flashbacks), avoidance (of things related to the event), changes in mood (depression, anger, fear, etc), and issues with emotional regulation (hypervigilance–being constantly on the lookout for threats–irritability/angry outbursts, etc.).

Complex PTSD happens if someone has experienced long term, chronic/repeated trauma that induces hopelessness and no chance of escape (survivors of extended child abuse, human trafficking, domestic violence, prisoners of war, slavery, etc.). It’s also often interpersonal in ways a car crash or medical emergency is not, and is particularly linked with chronic trauma during childhood: chronic stress hormones introduce literal physical changes in a growing brain, particularly the amygdala (which processes fear), hippocampus (which is responsible for learning/memory), and the prefrontal cortex (which is responsible for executive function), so it can affect every aspect of life and also affect a child’s progression through developmental stages. In addition to these physical changes to the brain, the prolonged trauma–particularly the helplessness–distorts a child’s sense of self, the perpetrator, and the world in ways that alter their decision making, their memory, and their future relationships.

For instance, whereas a traumatic event that caused PTSD might make you depressed or not trust the person who harmed you (or to fear driving), the trauma from cPTSD might make you suicidal, blame yourself for your victimization, decide to isolate to avoid interpersonal relationships to keep from getting hurt, or become obsessed with never being harmed again.

Basically, cPTSD has the core symptoms from PTSD with some extra challenges, including issues with emotional regulation, self-concept, interruptions in consciousness, difficulties with relationships, perceptions of the perpetrator, and systems of meaning.

DFS and LLH: CPTSD Symptoms

There’s so much more to say about this than I can cover in this superficial introduction, so this will be the first of a series of metas; I’m hoping to go into more depth about some of these categories in future posts (the DFS and emotional regulation/violence one is already drafted, so stay tuned).

Difficulties with Relationships (problems with trust, communication, missing red flags): Both DFS and LLH have a history of trusting the wrong people and not trusting the right people, both in the past and in the present of the show: in the past, LLH missed the fact that SGD hated him and DFS missed the fact that JLQ was obsessed with him, and as a result, both sects were destroyed, many people died, and the two almost destroyed each other. If they had communicated with each other instead of fighting at the donghai battle, they might have realized they were being set up and could have worked together, but their difficulties with trust after perceived betrayal made that impossible for them. They both have a history of overlooking red flags in the present–DFS in particular, keeping the red-flag-personified-JLQ around despite her history of poisoning people, including himself–and they both tend to struggle with relationships in the present: LLH runs away from and/or drugs the people who care about him, and DFS sends endless mixed messages by not telling Li Lianhua most of his plans to help him.

Self-Concept (Self-hatred and self-fragmentation): Li Lianhua is basically the poster child for having a negative self concept: he has an overdeveloped sense of self-blame and responsibility, even believing he deserves to die for leading his men to their deaths, and once he learns he was manipulated and SGD was behind it all, he seems to think it’s his own fault that he was manipulated, lied to, and abused. His self-loathing is so extreme that he imagines his earlier self, Li Xiangyi, to have died, and tries as much as possible to be nothing like that earlier persona. His repeated insistence that Li Xiangyi and Li Lianhua are NOT the same person is reminiscent of the fragmentary sense of self that comes with more extreme trauma, like Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) or Other-Specified Dissociative Disorder (OSDD), where traumatic experiences are so painful that people form different alters, or differentiated self-states, that can have different names and skills and memories and identities.

Di Feisheng doesn’t have the self-hatred or guilt that LLH does, and it seems like he tries to skip over questions of self worth, blame, or hatred by focusing exclusively on staying true to his code of ethics he’s developed for himself and focusing on gaining the strength necessary to fight for his freedom from mind control and the Di Fortress. But even though he’s kept his Di name, kept his goals the same since escaping Di Fortress, and hasn’t tried to separate himself from his trauma the way LLH did with LXY, he’s even more willing than LLH to take on different identities: it’s literally one of his martial arts skills. The Bone Constriction Skill lets him become someone else for a time, whether that’s a child or Shi Hun. It fits well with his willingness to be whoever he needs to be to accomplish his goals: he’s perfectly willing to be seen as a heartless villain if it lets him protect LLH, and he’s willing to flirt with and pretend to be jealous of JLQ to get information from her, and he’s willing to be LLH’s a-Fei, both with and without his memories.

Interruptions in Consciousness (Amnesia and nightmares for Everyone): LLH and DFS both have nightmares and flashbacks/memories of traumatic events, and as mentioned above, both have interesting hints of having fragmented/fluid senses of self. They both also dissociate, or separate themselves from the present when dealing with traumatic things: LLH spaces out and gets stuck in his past memories about SGD when talking to FDB after burying SGD, and DFS dissociates from physical pain so as not to make noise both after he’s been stabbed and poisoned with Wuxin Huai and again when JLQ is torturing him in her water dungeon.

They both also have dissociative amnesia that takes away trauma memories, although one is from a poisonous incense plus the magic of qi macgyvering: LLH forgot the existence of his older brother who died in front of him, and DFS as a-Fei had just about all of his memories (except a few of killing as a child) taken away. Amnesia is a huge part of cPTSD, because it’s the brain’s way of trying to protect you from truths that you might not survive. It can manifest as blocking out one single traumatic event, a bunch of thematically or temporally linked traumatic events, a skill set related to the trauma, or, in the case of something like DID or OSDD, just about everything. It’s endlessly fascinating to me that the show gives us one example of definite traumatic amnesia through LLH, and then seems to almost transform the experience of having DID and being a new part and finding yourself with a new name and very little else into an exaggerated fantasy setting (interestingly, people often report experiencing debilitating headaches when they try to regain memories behind the amnesia barrier). I doubt this is what they were actually going for, since DID is almost universally portrayed incorrectly and offensively in media (one of the alters is almost always portrayed as a serial killer, but that’s a rant for another day), but the different names and the presence of amnesia with LLH made it a fascinating enough parallel that I had to mention it.

Problems with Emotional Regulation (Lashing in vs. lashing out): Li Xiangyi and Di Feisheng are polar opposites when it comes to struggles with emotional regulation: whereas LXY turns his anger inward, directing it all toward self-hate in what’s often called a “toxic shame spiral,” both after the donghai battle and after he finds out about SGD’s role in his shifu’s death, DFS lashes out physically at those who have harmed him, usually via choking people, although he is usually exerting an impressive amount of control over his emotions and strength. To put in perspective just how different their emotional strategies are and how much effort DFS puts into emotional regulation, compare how much more calm he is than LLH during any revelation of past betrayal or painful information, any scene where they confront the people who have abused them, or any scene where they learn they’ve been wrong about something big; LLH is most likely having an emotional flashback (re-experiencing the emotions from the earlier traumas) and DFS is probably compartmentalizing them or dissociating from them to process later/never so he can stay semi-functional and not show a potential opponent a weak spot.

NOTE: This means that DFS is loooong overdue for a very dramatic breakdown when it eventually all catches up to him and he can’t distract himself from it anymore.

Perceptions of Perpetrators: In this way only, Di Feisheng has one advantage: he knows the head of Di Fortress is a cruel, abusive tyrant. While he clearly still fears him, even as a physically strong adult (he has nightmares, flashbacks, and dedicates his life to being free from him, which means he still to some extent feels young, small, and helpless when he thinks of him), DFS knows that he hates him and wants to be free of him. This is probably part of why he’s spared some of the self-hatred LLH experiences: he knows he didn’t deserve the abuse because seeing it happen to other children means he knows the abuse wasn’t a personal reflection on him. It does, however, motivate him to want to be stronger and invulnerable so as to never be helpless again, and that obsession is what drives him to have a single-minded focus on reaching the pinnacle of the jianghu.

It’s so much more complicated for Li Lianhua (and for a more detailed analysis, check out this meta): the childhood perpetrators were manifold–a slew of bandits, whichever children and adults on the street would abuse him for existing and being poor–it probably felt like life itself was to blame. It’s no wonder that when his shifu and shiniang took him in, they were the ultimate rescuers whom he hero-worshipped, so when he felt he made a mistake and his life fell apart, he blamed himself: at least there would be someone to blame that way and something he could do about it (try to kill his past self and hate everything about him). It’s also very telling that LLH doesn’t blame JLQ or YBQ all that much when he learns they poisoned him, and that he’s more angry that SGD murdered their shifu than he is that SGD set him up, hated him, and was the real mastermind behind everything he had blamed himself for; he struggles to stay angry at people who harm him, and would rather blame and hate himself for being tricked than hate the person who tricked him. So, whereas DFS tries to destroy the people who abused him, LLH tries to destroy himself.

If you read this far, thanks! I’m probably going to be posting the DFS and emotional regulation/violence against perpetrator meta next, because it’s drafted, but if there are any of these you desperately want me to talk about more sooner rather than later, let me know! :D

#mysterious lotus casebook #mlc meta #di feisheng #li lianhua #Li Xiangyi #complex PTSD #child abuse #sorry it's so long! This is the short version #The original version was 2700 words #dissociation #trauma #I am so here for non-monolithic representations of mental illnesses #PTSD #In case you can't tell I am very invested in depictions of PTSD and cPTSD #I'm always up for talking about fictional portrayals of trauma #so feel free to message if you have questions about any of this and don't want it to be in the notes for some reason

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afuckingsystemsthoughts · 7 months ago

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i know I'm gonna get some hate for this, but it needs to be said.

hazbin hotel is problematic. the creator is problematic. the creator romanticizes sexual abuse in the show, along with sexual violence in general. it's also offensive to Christians, which, I'm not a big fan of Christianity, but I also won't offend their religion because that would be anti-theist and that's not good; we should respect all beliefs and religions (that are not cults, harmful or toxic.) i say this as a sexual abuse survivor myself- sexual abuse and sexual violence are not funny or entertaining. and if you fetishize sexual violence, you are not a person with a harmless kink. you are a paraphile, which makes you radqueer, which makes you a part of the community that mocks peoples races, trauma, physical and mental disorders, and normalizes pedophilia and zoophilia. including that in your shows and doing that alone speaks for who you are.

and ofc, the DID fakers and endos are gonna pretend they have hazbin hotel alters. every sys server I've been in has at least one system with an angel dust alter, he seems to be the most common, but there's others too, and id believe the systems who say they have hazbin hotel introjects, if it wasn't for every system we've seen with a hazbin hotel introject also has a fuck ton of other introjects from other media used by admitted and obvious fakers. I can accept fictives from toxic sources, because fictives aren't their source, just the brains representation and internalization of the source- but so many fakers following a dumb trend have these hazbin hotel introjects, that it makes me paranoid around system spaces and just... people who say they have DID/OSDD in general. and the fakers are following the trend using toxic media like hazbin hotel, which makes it worse because of how toxic the show and creator are. it shows that fakers truly do fetishize us and our trauma.

#actually dissociative #dissociative identity disorder #osddid #syscourse #anti radqueer #anti map #anti endo #endos dni #endos fuck off #anti vivziepop #anti hazbin hotel

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fishhuh · 1 year ago

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What feels most insulting about being told that Izzys death made sense or was an appropriate end to his arc is the fact that it essentially disregards every reason we are upset about how his character was portrayed and sums it up to us just being upset that our favorite character died.

Because it's not that. I mean yeah, we are upset he died, but specifically it's not only how he died, but how the show handled it. Izzy was not just some lovesick puppy pining for Ed, and he was not some hard ass asshole forcing Ed to do the things he did. He was a survivor. A survivor of Ed's abuse, of betrayal, of love that morphed into a desperate attachment to a man who gave him so little when Izzy was the very thing keeping his world still spinning.

Izzy was important to people because of this, and so much more. He represented healing, self acceptance, growth, love. To see a character who was beaten down and thrown away for so long get to see a glimpse of what it was like to actually be his own person, to be cared about and see family in someone who didn't hurt him, only for him to be killed by something that every other character in the show never would have been killed from. Every other character time and time again got to survive what would have logically killed them, and yet Izzy dies from being shot in a scene you only see for a few seconds. Because it's clear to me that the whole time, he was always meant to die. And that's the problem.

The way Izzy's place is Ed's life was written almost paints him as being at fault for his abuse. He tells Ed he "fed his darkness" as if that puts him at fault for Ed literally physically abusing and mutilating him. He is treated as nothing more than a plot device to further Ed's path to happiness. A survivor of abuse dies so his abuser can move forward and heal. Izzy sits rotting in the dirt under the very home Ed gives Stede the love Izzy so desperately wanted.

I also think boiling Izzy's character down to him having an unrequited love for Edward brushes over the reason Ed is so important to him. Izzy forged his entire self around Blackbeard. He was nothing without him. He loved him and saw him as family and Edward didn't give him the time of day. He sacrificed so much of himself so Blackbeard could thrive, and what did he get in return? When Izzy realized he saw the crew as family, that was a very big moment for his character. He finally realizes that he is loved. And then at his funeral, we get all these reactions to his death from the crew that are just so out of character. The whole season was about how the crew was becoming accepting and loving of izzy and literally protecting him and then when he dies they just, what go off and seemingly forget about him?

Izzy deserved better. And we aren't mad because he died, we are mad because such an important piece of representation for so many people was so blatantly thrown away and disrespected.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2 #ofmd spoilers #izzy hands #con o'neill #edward teach #blackbeard #taika waititi #my posts #izzy deserved better

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caramel-ribbons · 2 years ago

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Huntlow is such a great dynamic. Like, they don’t have the pacing and icon status of Lumity or the history and angst of Raeda, but what they share in common with all these ships is their payoff.

Huntlow pays tribute to the character development of both Hunter and Willow in a way no other relationship in the Owl House does. When Luz and Amity meet, they’re still flawed. Luz is still oblivious and naive. Amity is still perfectionistic and cruel. They spend so much time together, recognizing their own shortcomings as well as each others, and this acknowledgment of who they used to be and who they became through each other, is the foundation of their relationship. Luz learns to accept herself and be vulnerable and Amity learns to express herself, quirks and all, and accept unconditional love from another person.

Raeda is, in many ways, the perfect relationship dynamic. Two characters who’ve been together for so long, they know the other better than they know themselves. They have all these memories from when they were kids, and despite experiencing so many ups and downs in their relationship, they still care for each other. Even after Raine breaks up with Eda and begins distancing themselves from Eda during season 2B, Eda still knows how much Raine cares for her. They know each other on a deeper level than most ever will.

But Huntlow? They didn’t meet the other when they were at their lowest. Willow didn’t meet Hunter when he was the Golden Guard, and Hunter didn’t meet Willow when she was “half-a-witch”. They only know each other for who they are now, not the labels people projected onto them or the expectations assigned to them.

Hunter was forced to be stoic and strong, but around Willow, he can be awkward. He can be sweet. Willow became shy and insecure because she was bullied for her abomination magic. But now, she’s a plant witch, an athlete. One of the best plant witches, actually, as well as the captain of a sports team she created. Hunter has only ever know Willow for her strength, her fortitude, and her self-assurance.

Thankfully, this part of the fandom has shrunk considerably, in fact, it was never big to begin with, but I do still see people who dislike Huntlow because they feel it’s rushed, and they’re allowed to feel this way. But Huntlow only feels rushed in part because of Disney’s cancellation of the Owl House, but mostly because of how their relationship begins. When they first meet each other, Willow is a “captain” and Hunter is just Hunter. Luz is the one who sees most of Hunter’s unfavorable moments. His obedience to his abusive uncle and loyalty to the coven system, and every other character besides Hunter remembers when Willow was the meek and timid witch who had no voice and could barely do magic. Seeing two characters who meet after they’ve overcome so much and after they’ve discovered so much about themselves feels antithetical to most relationships in this show.

There’s also detractors specifically because of Hunter’s trauma. They don’t feel comfortable seeing him enter a relationship when he’s still unpacking Belos’ physical and emotional abuse. It’s fair, but what people don’t seem to understand is that traumatized people have partners. Victims and survivors of abuse enter relationships. If Owl House has taught anyone anything about love, it’s that love doesn’t cure, but it does change, even heal. Trauma shouldn’t prevent people from having healthy relationships, in fact, they need healthy relationships just as much as anyone else, if not more. Support helps the recovery process. Yes, the media has enforced toxic portrayals of romantic relationships, and yeah, many stories, particularly made for movies and for television, present love as this magical force that melts cold hearts and purifies dark souls. But, there is still a place in media for the representation Huntlow offers of abuse victims and their journey to recovery.

#the owl house #hunter noceda #willow park #huntlow #toh season 3 #i love them so much #why are they so cute

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egotisticaleverything · 5 months ago

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As an abuse survivor I don’t really care about how bad and romanticised It Ends With Us is I mainly care about the fact that there were no trigger warnings on the box and/or movie. I picked up that book at an air port a few years ago and ignoring the quite frankly terrible writing the content really triggered me and I was surprised there was no warning from the staff or book itself when I purchased it.

I was 14 when I picked that book up unknowingly right as I got out of a physically and mentally abusive relationship and it was not a good book for me to read while in that mental space. It was advertised to me as a RomCom and “Good queer representation” when the only queer characters was a predatory gay stereotype and letters addressed to Ellen DeGeneres.

I have no idea how people who go to see the movie are going to react when they walk into what the main actor had advertised as a “movie to see with your girls” just to be shown domestic abuse both mental and physical.

#it ends with us #colleen hoover #it ends with us movie #movie #Colleen Hoover sucks for this #trigger warnings are actually needed #tw #can we normalise them?#opinion #this is an OPINION

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softpine · 1 year ago

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ALL THE DIFFERENT GRIFFINS. IM SO. I NEED INFO. SPECIFICALLY ON GRIFFIN WITH A DAUGHTER??? DO U HAVE ANY ACTUAL THOUGHTS ABT THESE DIFFERENT AUS BC IM SO,,,,,

yesssss i would be happy to share each of the griffins lives!! i'll just run through them in order:

[major trigger warning for child abuse, attempted murder, etc. all the typical finn things]

1- inmate: he... did something... that i can't tell you yet... as a kid that got him sent to juvy for a few years. by the time he was released at 18, he had practically no life skills, no formal education, and the only people left in his life were other juvy kids. he tried to make the best of a shitty situation by changing his name, moving states, and starting over, but it wasn't long before he resorted to petty theft to make it by. his crimes escalated until he was eventually caught for armed robbery and sentenced to 25 to life. it was almost a relief to know that he wouldn't have to worry about making decisions anymore. he doesn't feel like he's ever been in charge of his own life, so being in prison is just more of the same.

2- drifter: he's still a teenager here. he successfully ran away from home as a kid, never got attacked, but instead of going to live with his aunt in new york, he's been living mostly on the road and in shelters ever since. he sticks to smaller towns, keeps a low profile, and makes a living doing odd jobs. he's safe, but lonely. asa knowing his name was a huge shock to him, because no one ever cares to ask his name.

3- kid: he hasn't hit the turning point in his life where every tiny decision can have life-altering consequences, so this is just a representation of almost every version of griffin at age 12. in this particular moment, he'd just gotten into a fight at school which he will be suspended for. i just think it's funny how he calls asa an old man lmao

4- survivor: he was obviously attacked. when he was found many days later, he was barely clinging to life. he suffered the most severe brain damage of all the versions of griffin we've seen, lost his eye, and has never quite recovered from the emotional and physical trauma. he has frequent seizures that leave him unable to work. it's rare that he even goes outside alone, so asa approaching him on the one day when he did choose to go for a walk by himself was not great timing. where this griffin differs is that he was adopted by his aunt after the attack, because his parents were actually charged with child abuse and neglect for their actions on the night of his attack (many people believe they were directly responsible, but it was never proven. they pled guilty to lesser charges to avoid an attempted murder trial). so griffin is actually in new york in that picture.

5- dad: he was attacked and left for dead, but in this universe, he was rescued within a few hours. his attacker had stabbed him in the arm with a broken beer bottle (this happened to all the versions of griffin who were attacked. it's why he wasn't able to fight back as hard). while he was being treated in the hospital, the wound got infected and his arm had to be amputated. the long healing process meant he had to rely on his parents for a ton of assistance and support. they were even more desperate to prove that they can be good parents and that they would never hurt their son, so the 3 of them all became pretty codependent. he lived at home with them until he was in his 30s, but then his dad died of a sudden heart attack (brought on by alcoholism, because he never quit drinking) and griffin realized it was time to move on. he married the daughter of one of his mom's friends, the first person he's ever dated, but their marriage dissolved a few years later for... a lot of reasons. they got a divorce before the baby was even born, but griffin tries to be the best father he possibly can be. he absolutely spoils her (you can see that based on the excessive playground equipment he bought for his yard lol) and she's his entire reason for living now, even though he only gets to see her every other week. he hopes she can stay for longer when she's older.

6- mechanic: griffin (and our finn, for that matter) was a huge nascar fan and his dream was to be a professional driver. that didn't exactly pan out for him, but he does enjoy being a mechanic. he's about 40 in that picture. he was never attacked, never ran away from home, and instead he endured the increasingly horrific abuse until he turned 18, moved out, and never talked to anyone in his family ever again. he prefers to be mostly solitary; never married, no kids, not even any friends, but he gets along with his coworkers well enough. he has an extremely hard time trusting that anyone has good intentions. in his free time, he restores & sells old furniture. his dream is to retire and move to the countryside.

7- sex worker: honestly, probably the most mentally stable griffin on this list... like don't get me wrong, he's still traumatized from the same childhood that every version of griffin shares, and i'm not saying his job is easy by any means, but he has a ton of friends who actually understand him and who he doesn't have to pretend with, he lives with his cousin liz who he's really close to, he keeps in contact with his parents but hardly ever sees them in person (which is exactly how he likes it), and he has a real sense of community. he was never attacked. he didn't run away from home when he was 12 like he planned, but instead waited until he was 14 and his parents allowed him to go live with his aunt with everyone's agreement. when liz, who is older than him, moved out to go to college, griffin followed her and they've been living together for years now. she's the only family member who knows what he does for work, so she makes sure to look out for him. oh also he's the only version of griffin we've seen that has a boyfriend?? he was supposed to say something about him in response to asa saying "i have a partner", but i cut it because i don't actually think griffin would offer that info up to a stranger, no matter how strangely trustworthy asa appears to be.

#if you only knew how many hundredsssss of versions of griffin that i could invent at the drop of a hat lmao #i don't even have to think about them they just float into my brain with no warning #bitchyybabyy400 #asks #nonsims #brandi answers

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spopsalt · 10 months ago

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Hi!!

This will be a bit more of a personal rant / ramble about spop if that's okay!

So like I was around 11 when the first season of spop came out. My sister followed Nate and was very excited for the project so we watched it, and we both really liked it!!

So each time every season came out we watched it and came up with fan theories and all that jazz! Keep in mind, we never really rewatched seasons in between. So we watched season 2, waited around half year and then watch season 3 when it came out. So we never watched season 2 again in between those months. This makes it that you forget some things, but that was alright.

I think this is the way the show is meant to be watched. It was enjoyable, we came up with theories, we came up with ships, we bonded with the characters. Season 4 was my favourite season because of all the tension and drama!!

And then well, season 5 was a bit of a letdown, but yeah sure! That's fine, y'know. I am not a shipper at all, my sister is aware at this point that her ships are never really popular so she didn't have her hopes up (she ships glimmadora). She also followed Nate so she knew that he liked c//a and stuff.

Anyways, when the show was finished, people really started watching it because of the lgbt representation. This always felt weird to me? It didn't make sense? I didn't watch Spop with the idea in mind that c//a would become canon in the end. Which made the show a whole lot easier to watch.

I also felt like.. it wasn't really the point of the show at all? There was just a kiss at the end that was about the romance the show had gotten, I didn't get it (im aromantic asexual so maybe that's why).

I have a lesbian friend (they/she) for example, who watched the show for c//a. Which is fine, they really like it and they relate to c/tra, due to trauma and stuff. It's just that it felt so.. weird talking to them about the show. Because everything about the show kinda felt like it was about c//a for them? Just like how you anti-spop blogs talk about how c//a shippers can make any scene about c//a. That's how it felt. Now I didn't really mind, but it felt odd to me.

Either way. At some point, me and my sister finally convinced my other sister to join our rewatch. Which was,, tough. Well, it was alright, in the sense that, I just focused on my favourite characters and (platonic) relationships. (Entrapta! Scorpia! Glimmer!! Adora!!! :D!!)

But the c//a kiss at the end made me physically cringe. (Literally)

I don't really have a point to make! I just believe that Spop isn't meant to be binge-watched? I feel like? I really really enjoyed my first watch, and I have very conflicted feelings about it (due to nostalgia too. dt being the first enban ive ever seen on tv?? mindblowing!!).

I like it. But also as an emotional abuse survivor, it also is just.. tough. All in all it's just, a bit, disappointing?

I guess that's it :) that's my ramble.

I'm not sure if anyone has any similar experiences, as pretty much everyone I know watched it after all seasons came out and it has risen in popularity.

Have a nice day!! Love ur blog

Awwwww thanks for your kind words, also it's ok, the ask buttons says "Rant with Me!" for that reason, I love hearing rants! But yeah, I personally was never that big of a fan, but it's good that you like it! But yeah the representation is definitely bad, the only bisexual character get in m x f ships, which is fine, ofc bisexual people don't have to date only people of the same gender, but...they never show attraction towards other people of the same gender?! The only bi characters get in m x f ships, one of them was extremely rushed, and one of them was creepy considering it looked like an adult dating a teen. Also the main couple is literally just a victim falling back into the cycle and kissing her sister who literally gave her trauma.

#anti spop #spop criticism #spop discourse #spop critical #spop crit #anti catra #anti catradora #spop salt #anti c//a #antic//a #anti glimbow #I mean not really “anti”#because it's not toxic #but it's so rushed #like Glimmer blushed at Bow once #and now they love each other?

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crip-writing-shit · 6 months ago

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More essay

did you really think I would only over analyze and project onto Doctor who? If so you have been sorely mistaken. Behold my latest creation! Roman Sanders is a surprising good representation of a sibling abuse survivor! Like to ao3 chapter here or continue reading here

head up for non specific talk of child abuse and neglect

I will be trying to write this drawing from cannon only however I have been in the Sander Sides fandom for quite some time and so not all of my characterization will be completely accurate, I am aware that Remus and Roman did not have conventional childhoods with parents as they are only metaphysical but due to the nature of humans dysfunctional sibling relationships occur within a greater family and society with all that said and done let’s get into the meat of it.

A “glass child” is a term used for a sibling of someone with higher needs than themselves and thus the glass child receives very little of the caregivers attention leading to them feeling see through like glass. Glass children most often have medically complex siblings but in cases where a child’s behavior is so dangerous or undesirable that preventing it or limiting damage takes allot of focus and effort from the adults around them the sibling will often end up being neglected, in some cases the glass child will have to assist in caring for their sibling. Roman is very clearly desperate for attention from the other sides, he wants to be praised and looked at and admired. His ego is very fragile perhaps do to his being put aside in order to deal with Remus. When guardians are trying to protect the glass child they may end up keeping things from them because “they are too young to know” or leaving them out of the conversation. We see this in Roman in the beginning of “Dark Side Of Creativity” desperately asking his fellow sides to tell him what is happening and then refusing, he is then knocked out and unconscious for the entire discussion including its resolution, and at least on screen no one thinks to clue him in as to what all happened with his brother.

Sibling abuse is often dismissed and a rivalry or spat but when one sibling has more power over the other out of age, strength or, fear it is known as abuse. Sibling abuse like any other abuse can be Mental, physical, emotional or, sexual in nature and because society doesn’t recognize most cases of sibling abuse the protections in place for abused children let victims of sibling abuse fall through the cracks. Many of sibling abuse cases are what’s called “out of parental control cases” meaning that the parent is not the abuser and cannot stop the abuse easily. These cases are a conundrum because most often putting one or both siblings into foster care would only traumatize them more and so children are forced to remain in unsafe homes, “doesn’t sound like a very fun house” as it was put. Growing up with an abusive sibling we couldn’t discuss what happened during there episodes for fear of the guilt triggering another episode and so I was left out of the loop as Roman is through the episode. Logan wasn’t seriously hurt by Remus while Roman was not only because of belief but because Remus has power over Roman, Roman is cannot be safe from his brother the way the other sides are and with that in mind who do you think Remus takes the frustration of not being able to hurt the others out on? It’s no wonder Roman is so scared of becoming like his brother, is so desperate to rip off anything he has in common with Remus, even though they are family, due to their nature they have more in common with each other than they do other sides and that fact haunts Roman.

Patton prefers Roman. Roman is praised more often in “ The Dark Side of Creativity” more often than most any other episode in the series, but most of those compliments are just because he’s not his brother. “Roman is good!” Unlike Remus “Roman is brave!” Unlike Remus “Roman’s function is important” unlike Remus’ Roman is desperate for praise and yet the strongest praise he gets is when he’s asleep and used to hurt his brother. Roman is the favorite because Remus is the least favorite.

Being abused by a sibling especially one close in age leaves you abandoned by the protections for other abused children, it leaves you isolated from you family while still carrying the burden of being “the good one” it can leave you terrified of becoming like your sibling and sets you up to continue being in abusive relationships.

#sander sides #sander sides analysis #Sander sides essay #Roman sanders #Remus sanders #actual ptsd #Ptsd #child abuse #child neglect #child abuse tw #child neglect tw #Thomas sander #thomas sanders sides #tss #sanders sides #Car rants

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readingandwritingandreading · 8 months ago

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Some Hearts ~ Part 3

My Blurb: Sorry for the delay in getting this posted. I had an ovarian cyst rupture and it was not pleasant. The pain meds I have been on for the last week have not been super conducive to writing so if parts of this are wonky, I'm blaming that! I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Alas, I own nothing but my ideas. I do not give permission for my writing to be shared anywhere without my consent.

Summary: Reacher never needed anyone, he was a lone wolf and preferred it that way. But when he finds his mate beaten and bruised one night, she and the rest of the 110th show Reacher the benefits of being in a pack. Fated Mates, Shifter AU

Pairing: Jack Reacher x OFC Morgan Stone

Warnings: There are some darker things in this fic. Morgan is a rape and abuse survivor. Nothing is explicitly detailed but be advised. Your media consumption is your responsibility. This is a fated mates, wolf shifter AU and will contain claming, biting, mating and other wolf pack related things.

Tagging: @pioched | @ashes-writing | @titty-teetee2 | @may85

Add yourself to my taglist HERE

Read First: Some Hearts Masterlist

Also Check Out: Main Masterlist

Rock Hill Village Hospital, New York

Reacher’s eyes don’t leave Morgan but he still senses the surprised looks from his friends. No one called him Jack, not his family when he was young, not his superiors in the military and not his friends now. He had always preferred Reacher but when she had asked for his name he wanted her to call him Jack. He wanted to hear the way it sounded when she said it. Her calling him anything else seemed like it would cause the tugging in his chest to rip open.

He had already inspected the star shaped mark that had burned itself into the skin above his heart, a physical representation of the tether that bound them together. She hadn’t seemed to notice hers but Roscoe had said she was on some high pain killers. If she felt it she probably thought it was part of her other injuries and she hadn’t been awake long enough to see the matching mark on her own chest.

The door clicked close behind him but she didn't seem to notice. She was staring at him, her brown eyes wide, a look of shock and fear on her face. Shock he was expecting, he had delivered the news abruptly, but the fear concerned him.

“My fated mate?” her voice had a slight tremor to it. “How is that possible?”

Reacher shrugged, “O’Donnell tells me you can’t fight the Moon Goddess.”

“No, I mean…” she took a deep breath before continuing, “There was a bonding ceremony. My father made sure it was all legitimate. And after…the claiming…” her good arm wrapped around her torso and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. “There's no way he told anyone he messed it up. It was too important to his dad and mine. He will do whatever it takes to find me. If he found out about you…I can’t drag anyone down with me.” She’s rambling, looking around the room in a panic.

“Morgan” He gently placed his hands on her shoulders, quieting her movements. She looked so small and lost sitting on the bed and the tugging in his chest grew stronger. His wolf was pacing, not liking the anxiety and fear coming off their mate in waves. “I know you’re scared, but this is real.” He lifted his shirt up until his right pec was visible, showing her the mark. “I’m your fated mate, we will sort out whatever that entails but you are mine to protect.”

She studied the mark before shyly peeking down the top of her hospital gown. He knew she saw it when she bit her lip and slowly met his eyes again. “You don’t even know me,” There was still a slight tremor in her voice but she didn’t look like she was ready to bolt anymore.

“I know you’re brave and you’re smart. I served in the army for 13 years and there weren’t many that would do what you did, especially without a wolf. Going two weeks undetected while big men hunt you down. I'd like to get to know you more but right now you should rest.” He pulled the blanket over her legs and moved back to the chair beside her bed while she laid back.

She looked like she wanted to protest but a yawn hit her as soon as she laid her head on the pillow. He eased himself back into the chair beside her bed and within minutes her breathing evened out and she was asleep again.

He watched her for a while, thinking about the story she had told and her clear fear of being discovered by the other pack. A soft knock drew his attention to the door where Neagley had poked her head through and she nodded for him to follow her.

Once in the hallway she handed him a folder, “Everything Sanchez and Orozco have found so far. Finlay is going to do some digging also. Her story checks out, there's an article about the ceremony, even some pictures.” She pointed him to a page that looked like a scan of a newspaper. There was Morgan in a fancy green dress, she was smiling but it looked forced and didn’t reach her eyes. The man who stood next to her was slim but athletic looking. He had a square jaw and was smirking at the camera, his arm locked firmly around Morgan.

“What about her escape?” Reacher flipped through the file, noting her birthday from her passport.

“There hasn’t been a single mention of her since the article about the ceremony. Sanchez said it looks like they are playing it close to their chest. The Kliner pack is making it seem like they are on their honeymoon and that’s why no one has seen them.” She raised an eyebrow when Reacher clenched his fist. “You ok big guy? Emotions aren’t really your thing.”

Reacher closed the folder before looking at his friend. “She’s been through alot, and fate shackled her with me. Hardly seems fair to her.” He paused, “Thank you for the information, I don’t want to take up more of your resources than I already have.”

Neagley snorted, folding her arms across her chest. “You can pretend all you want that you aren’t a part of this pack Racher. But this is your home, and we are your family. Which makes that little wolf in there our family also.” She nodded towards Morgan’s room. “We protect our family.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“It’s real, Franz witnessed the whole thing.” I jumped at the sound of Charlie’s voice echoing in the little bathroom. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you, just have to make sure you didn’t black out on us, plus Reacher’s getting antsy out there.

I rolled my eyes at her while pulling the top of my hospital gown back up to cover the star shaped mark I had been inspecting. After talking with Jack, I slept another ten hours. My usual nightmares about my father and KJ finding me had been interrupted by the appearance of a large gray wolf who chased them away before sitting at my feet. After that I slept peacefully. It was the best sleep I'd gotten in years and I had awoken to find Jack asleep in the chair beside my bed. I studied him for a couple minutes noticing that even in sleep he still looked strong and firm. I shifted slightly and his eyes sprung open searching the room before finding me and relaxing. The tether between us hummed and I raised my hand to the mark on my chest.

A nurse appeared with food, breaking the tension. Then it was a whirlwind of x-rays and tests before Dr. Roscoe appeared and told me I could be released but she wanted to follow up with me in a week. My IV had been removed and Charlie had gone in search of some scrubs I could wear while I escaped to the bathroom. Jack had never strayed further than the hallway throughout the procedures and I needed a minute to figure out my plan without him bombarding my senses.

Even with my exhausted mind, my hormones had paid more attention to his abs when he lifted the shirt last night than the mark he had shown me, but studying mine, it did seem like they matched. Charlie’s intrusion had pulled me out of a worry spiral that was threatening to send me escaping through another window.

“You seem pretty close to my size, so these should fit you. I can bring some other stuff over to Reacher’s place tonight until you get your wardrobe figured out.” Charlie continued, placing a pair of green scrubs on the counter.

“Thank you…wait, Reacher’s house?” I swung around to face her.

She stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. “Yes, Reacher’s house. Where you will be staying. You didn’t know that?”

“No, I thought I could go to a motel or…although I guess I can’t pay for a motel but I could get a job or I could just…” My rambling was cut off by Charlie giggling. “Why are you laughing!”

“He has lived in your hospital room since you came in.” She tried to stop another round of giggles. “Oh my gosh, I have to tell Neagley, she will die. You staying in a hotel on the other side of the village”

“Charlie!” My screech sobered her but I heard Jack moving in the other room and the pull in my chest tugged a little causing me to reach my hand up and rub it.

“You’re already tuned to each other.” Charlie smiled, rubbing a spot on her chest. “I’m sorry I laughed. If you want to stay in the hotel instead of his place, that’s fine. But be prepared for a roommate or a tent pitched outside your door. Reacher is a good man, he has helped my mate out more than once and always when he didn’t have to. You are safe with him.” She nodded her head towards the scrubs before retreating out the door.

Changing into the scrubs with my one good arm proved challenging and by the time I had accomplished it I was sweating and wanted to sleep for another 10 hours but with a deep breath I steeled myself as I walked back into my room.

As expected, Jack turned away from Charlie immediately, looking me over like he was checking for new injuries. I tried not to focus on the gaze that lingered on my chest making me hyper aware that I didn’t have a bra on.

Charlie broke the tension by bringing me a stack of papers. “These are your discharge instructions along with a note of everything we did or gave you while you were here. Roscoe already went over everything with Reacher but feel free to reach out. Are you feeling ok?”

“Ya, just a little worn out from wrestling my clothes on with one hand.” I chuckled.

“Reacher, why don’t you go pull the truck around. I’ll bring Morgan out in a minute.” She waved Jack off with an eyebrow raise when he didn’t immediately leave. Once he left she turned to me, her face serious, “If you want, when I drop the clothes off later, I can help you shower and get changed. I know you aren’t ready for him to help.”

I nodded, heat climbing my cheeks, “I would appreciate that Charlie, thank you.”

She grinned in response before turning us towards the door. I followed her into the hallway and then onto an elevator that opened into a lobby. The people we passed along the way were all friendly, greeting Charlie and smiling politely at me. I gasped when we stepped outside. The storm had shielded the beauty of the valley on the night I arrived. The clear view of the mountains and trees surrounding the village was a picturesque backdrop to the cabins and buildings on either side of the hospital. My gaze spun around before landing on Jack standing by a blue Ford pickup. He opened the passenger side and gestured for me.

“I’ll see you in a bit.” Charlie gave my hand an encouraging squeeze and I smiled before sliding into the passenger seat.

I fiddled with my fingers as Jack rounded the truck and hopped in the driver's seat. Forcing myself to not watch him I looked out the window and at the hospital we were pulling away from. It was a large building, much larger than I would expect for a pack in the middle of nowhere. “Jack, how big is this pack?”

“103 currently, growing though, now that the members have settled and started having kids.” He shrugged, turning onto a road that looked like it was part of a town square.

“That’s very specific.” I smiled, “Does the hospital serve another pack? It seems bigger than needed”

“Details matter” he waved at a couple walking on the sidewalk, “and at least half the pack are ex-military. The influx of kids combined with living out here keeps Roscoe busy.”

I nodded, watching out the window as we made our way across the village. It wasn’t huge but from what I could see it was homey, clean and well maintained. A few people stared as we drove by but they all waved at Jack. “Everyone seems so…nice.”

Jack chuckled, turning the truck onto a small road that curved between some trees. “Neagley is pretty strict about who she lets join. It also helps…or hurts…that everyone is connected. The starting members were from my old army unit. They brought in their families and it grew from there. O’Donnel knew Roscoe’s husband, Roscoe knew Charlie and so on and so forth.”

“So the pack really is a big family?” Even I heard the wistfulness in my voice and I blushed when he glanced over at me but I had already spilled enough of my story to answer the question in his expression.

“Here we are” he gestured out the windshield as a cabin came into view.

My jaw dropped as I took in the beautiful two story cabin with a wrap around porch and a chimney that had a curl of smoke coming out. “This is your house? It’s beautiful.”

“Technically. I paid for it but Neagley and Dixon did all the work. I keep telling them to let someone else move in but they said I would need it someday. Turns out they were right.” He put the truck in park and jogged around to my side before I could open the door.

He watched me as I followed him into the house and took in the decor. It was simple and masculine. The same cedar wood was on the interior of the open floor plan. Soft brown leather sofas faced a fireplace that provided a comfortable glow into the rest of the house. A kitchen table sat near a large bay window that showcased another stunning view of the forest and mountains. The kitchen had stainless steel appliances and an island outfitted with barstools and the whole thing was overlooked by an upstairs loft.

“Bathroom, laundry room and an office through there.” Jack pointed to a hallway off the kitchen. He stood back as I peeked into each area before gesturing to the stairs. “Bedrooms are up here.” The comforting colors continued upstairs. Jack pointed out another bathroom and his bedroom before opening a third door. “This can be your room.”

“Thank you,” I replied, stepping into the room. It wasn’t huge but it was cozy and the bed looked soft. There was a closet on one end and a dresser on the other. The nightstands matched the dresser and sported lamps with light blue shades. “This is beautiful.”

“This is your space, you can make whatever changes you want. Just let me know.” I turned to find Jack standing in the doorway and that hum appeared in the tether again as we looked at each other.

Before I could reply the doorbell rang and he went down to answer it. I stayed in the room a few minutes longer, running my hand over the comforter that matched the lamp shades and smiling to myself. Stepping onto the landing I heard Jack and another male voice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Thank you Mr. Mosley, you didn’t have to do this.” Reacher smiled at the older man as he put the food in the fridge and handed him a bottle of water.

“You know my lady wouldn’t allow that to happen.” He replied with a chuckle, settling himself onto one of the barstools. “She would have come herself but her hip is acting up again after the storm.”

Morgan timidly made her way down the staircase and he could almost feel the worry rolling off her. She was nervous to stay with him but hadn’t put up a fight like he had been worried she would. He wouldn’t have blamed her, all of the information they had dug up on her past pointed towards a rightful apprehension towards men.

“Mr. Mosley, this is Morgan.” Reacher gestured for her to come in before continuing. “Morgan, this is Mr. Mosley. He and his wife run the pack grocery and hardware store. He brought us some dinner.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Mosley, thank you for the food.” Morgan smiled and shook the older man's hand.

“The pleasure is all mine my dear, when we heard the big guy had found a pretty little mate and that she was injured, my wife started cooking. If you hadn’t gotten released when you did we would be out of fridge space. And I had to bring it over to make sure he saved some for you.”

Morgan laughed softly at his words, visibly relaxing. “Jack has been very kind.”

“Oh? Jack is it?” Mosley raised an eyebrow at Reacher who just rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You really must be his mate to have that honor.” He stage whispered to Morgan, causing her to giggle.

Catching sight of Charlie’s car pulling in, he moved to the door to let her in. “So far so good?” She asked when she reached the door, a duffle bag in hand.

“Ya, Mosley showed up at the end of the tour with food in tow. She seems relaxed.” Reacher placed the bag on the stairs, pausing to see the grin light up Morgan’s face when she saw Charlie. Mosley was trying to send food home with her when he rejoined the group.

“I’m good, Paul is making dinner. I just stopped by to bring Morgan some cast friendly clothes and help her get cleaned up and then I’ll head home.” Charlie smiled kindly at him.

“I haven’t had a shower since before I fell and” Morgan held up her cast, “I discovered earlier that only having one good arm makes things like that difficult.” A happy hum vibrated through their tether and Reacher smiled to himself.

“You ladies go ahead, I’ll help Reacher get supper ready and then head back to the misses. Don’t be a stranger, Morgan.” Mosley called as Morgan led Charlie up the stairs not missing the way Reacher watched his little mate until she was out of sight.

#micole writes things now #reacher #reachertv #some hearts #jack reacher #reacher x ofc #jack reacher x ofc #alan ritchson

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